Farmington to weigh feasibility of turning park into cemetery
Farmington’s only cemetery, Riverside Cemetery, is getting crowded, and the town is looking to build a new one. The town is still in the exploratory phases of this conversation, but some people in the community want officials to nix the idea altogether.
“I can’t imagine my weekends being filled watching funeral processions and burials,” said James Drake of Farmington, whose property abuts the land.
“This is a town issue, this land is for all of us,” added Melinda Pritz of Farmington.
Neighbors are sounding the alarm and circulating petitions because the town is exploring the possibility of Don Tinty Family Park becoming the town’s newest cemetery.
“We are in a situation where if we have people going to have a town cemetery, we’re either going to have to buy a cemetery, buy a piece of property, because I’m convinced there’s no other property,” said Town Manager Kathleen Blonski at the Farmington Town Council meeting on May 12.
The park was donated to the town by philanthropist Don Tinty, who died in 2009. Neighbors said that a cemetery was not what he wanted.
“It’s a really nice park, and it’s being used right now exactly how Don envisioned it,” Drake said.
“Wherever he is, he wouldn’t be happy knowing what is being done here,” said Neela Patel of Farmington, another neighbor.
That’s exactly why the town says the next step is to take a closer look at what the deed lets them do, or not do. They will be pursuing a legal opinion on the deed.
“As many of you are aware, the Town has been working with the Farmington Cemetery Association for several years to identify and secure land for an additional cemetery. One option under consideration is the Town-owned Tinty property on Main Street in Farmington. The Town will be conducting preliminary due diligence work on the property this summer,” reads the agenda from the May 12 meeting.
This is not the first time the town and the community have butted heads about this topic. Neighbors fought this conversation in 2018, and the town ultimately decided not to take any action.
“This neighborhood really can’t keep doing this year over year; it’s really upsetting to the closest neighbors,” Pritz said.
“One of the reasons why it is here is because of the desperation of the cemetery association that came to me,” said Blonski on May 12. “They need to know whether or not this property is totally off the table or if it’s not off the table.”
There is another Farmington Town Council meeting on Tuesday evening. Although this topic isn’t on the agenda, neighbors said they plan to speak out during public comment.
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